The Brothers Black
by BelovedIndiferance
Summary: Regulus' account of the night Sirius left. Hinting to SB/RB.


The Brothers Black

_Regulus' account of the night Sirius left. Hinting to SB/RB. No real plot to speak of!_

I'm a horrible person. I can hear the screaming all the way from his room upstairs…they always fight like this, but this time it's over me. They caught us tonight in the kitchen when they came back from a diner party the Malfoy family was hosting. We'd stayed home because mum and dad wouldn't be caught dead in public with him and I '_wasn't feeling up to it_'; we'd had a late dinner together and we were cleaning up after like we always did when he leaned over and kissed me. It wasn't odd, it was just how our relationship had developed after one particularly bad fight with our parents last Christmas. I had started to kiss him back when they came through the fire earlier than we'd expected due to something breaking the party up early. Now I sat curled in a tight ball in the corner of his room listening to him fight them off like he always did. And then I heard it… a loud smack that was almost deafening, and then my father's voice echoed through the house:

"Get out of my sight, you do nothing but shame the name of our family move every second you remain breathing."

A door slammed so hard I felt the house shake slightly before I heard his agitated foot fall coming up the steps to the landing we shared. He slammed his door behind him and threw himself on the bed muttering a spell to lock the door. I cautiously unfolded myself and moved towards the bed,

"Siri?"

He looked at me for a moment before extending one arm in an open invitation for me to approach. I wasted no time in quickly climbing across the bed and burring myself against his side, his arm wrapping protectively around me. I noticed a small trickle of blood from where father had hit him and reached to wipe it away.

"I'm sorry Siri." He caught my hand as I started to pull it back and brought it to his mouth, pressing his lips to the palm before intertwining our finger together over his chest.

"It's not your fault, Reg." He said softly bringing his other had up my back to play with my hair. We lay there for I don't know how long just taking comfort in the fact that we were there to be strong for each other, that there was actually someone around that need us, that made us feel wanted.

"I don't want you to go." I said finally, voicing the silent fear I'd held since we'd stepped back in this house at the beginning of break. Sirius didn't say anything, just moved his hand up and down my back in a comforting manner. Another immeasurable amount of time passed before I spoke again,

"I don't know what I'd do with out you Siri."

This time his hand returned to my hair, fingers applying just enough pressure to my scalp to be reassuringly affectionate, "Me either kiddo, me either,"

He gave my hair a gentle tug before pulling a blanket over us and kissing my forehead, "Try and get some sleep Reg."

And I did. And I've never regretted anything more in my entire life.

I awoke the next morning to the sun shining in my eyes. It was odd, Sirius normal woke me up before this, and I couldn't feel him beside me…I thought he might be in the shower. After a moment of listening that theory proved false, there was no noise coming from the bath room. Sirius always sang, horribly off key, wile he was in the shower… well almost always…

I rolled over and found a folded piece of paper on the pillow next to me and my heart sank. I reached for it with a shaky hand, already knowing the gist of what it said. Opening it I found my brothers unsightly chicken scratch running across the page:

"_Regulus,_

_I can not even begin to say how sorry I am about leaving you._

_Especially like this…_

_Just know that I love you in every since of the word that I shouldn't._

_Promise me you'll take care of yourself in my absence until we meet again._

_And I swear to you, on every thing I believe in, we will meet again._

_Forever your loving brother,_

_Sirius Black."_

_I cried all that morning… all that week. My brother was gone. My one ally, my one friend… gone. But I held him to his promise, I still expect him to come back for me. I have faith in my brother, and I can wait. And I can also look for him as well, once I'm free of these awful bonds that tie me to our unforgiving family. So that's exactly what I'll do._

_My name is Regulus Arcturus Black. Tonight is my last night of school. Tomorrow, instead of going home like my fellow graduates, I intend to begin looking for my brother. My real home. And I will find him._


End file.
